Springbrook Rescue - World Heritage Rainforests

Northern-most snowgrass in Australia
On a high altitude Parks Service property managed by ARCS on the Springbrook plateau, visiting botanist Liu Weber recently revealed the northern most snowgrass field in Australia, a relict of the last ice-age. Liu also found a unique Sphagnum moss species on the property only known from Springbrook. Liu has been working with our bush regenerator Kevin on our rainforest regeneration strategy.

Koonjewarre rainforest regeneration has kicked off in earnest!
The Springbrook project staff and volunteers have begun work on the iconic Koonjewarre camp site. Koonjewarre.com is an accommodation business run by the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society to generate profits which underwrite our rainforest regeneration. Last week we began ripping and slashing the dense grasses stopping rainforest seedlings coming up to kick-start regeneration on the lower area of the property which is not used in the business operation.

ARCS Springbrook was pleased to host a recent site tour for City of Gold Coast (COGC) Council.

We gave Councillor Glenn Tozer and Environment manager Grant Perriott a tour of our 20 year rainforest restoration efforts at Springbrook - helping cement support for a Critical Zone Observatory and ongoing ecological monitoring on this crucial rainforest area.

Pictured at the Springbrook Rainforest Restoration Project centre are left to right COGC Councillor & Environment Committee Chair Glenn Tozer, Prof. Clyde Wild, ARCS Vice-President Prof.A J Brown, and COGC Environment program manager Grant Perriott.

Rainforest residents
Red browed finch, Eastern yellow robin, Pale yellow robin, Red necked pademelon and Brown Gerygone. All photos taken from the same location on Springbrook.

A major bamboo infestation has been defeated!

On a high altitude rainforest property in Springbrook that was purchased for addition to the national park system some years ago, ARCS volunteers working with Parks Service interns have finally removed a major bamboo infestation and the shoots of native rainforest trees are already sprouting. We have a huge task ahead of us, regenerating rainforest on these properties, and saving the Parks Service hundreds of thousands of dollars because the work is done mostly by volunteers and costs underwritten by profits from accommodation businesses Koonjewarre.com and Springbrook Lyrebird Retreat (lyrebirdspringbrook.com) which we manage expressly for the purpose of supporting rainforest regeneration.

Ankida Nature Refuge

ARCS is custodian of the Ankida Nature Refuge on Springbrook gifted to us by the generous former owners to protect in perpetuity.

We visited the remote lower basin last month accompanied by Ranger in Charge Steve Foreman to assess access, wildlife and w**d control concerns.

New shoots of native trees after bamboo infestations removed by volunteers to the Springbrook Rainforest Restoration Project

Removing a bamboo infestation, Springbrook National Park.
ARCS volunteers removing a bamboo infestation on high conservation value land that was saved in the parks system by the state government through the ARCS-inspired Springbrook buy-back program. The non government Springbrook Rainforest Restoration project has saved the state taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars because regeneration work is done by volunteers or by our single employee. The project is entirely financed by the profit from ecotourism accomodation businesses Springbrook Lyrebird Retreat (https://lyrebirdspringbrook.com/) and Koonjewarre camp (https://koonjewarre.com/)

Brown cuckoo-doves
Very actively calling in the Springbrook rainforest at the moment. A rainforest and wet sclerophyll fruit-eating pigeon valuable for rainforest seed dispersal and hence, rainforest restoration.
They are not cuckoos (nest parasites). The name only refers to their long cuckoo like tails.
https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Macropygia-amboinensis

Best wishes to all our friends and supporters for the festive season and the new year of 2026!
Martin Taylor, Treasurer ARCS
Wompoo (c) Shane MacNamara

Springbrook old growth
A walk through old growth and regenerating rainforest at Springbrook this morning
Martin Taylor ARCS Treasurer